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City of Newport News
Back River and Warwick River Bacteria TMDL Action Plan
2024-2029 Permit Cycle
1. Introduction and Background
1.1 Purpose
This report presents the updated City of Newport News’ Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
Action Plan for bacteria reduction in the Back River and Warwick River watersheds as required
by Part I.D.2.c) of its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit VA0088641, issued
by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) with an effective date of January 23,
2024, and an expiration date of January 22, 2029 (2024-2029 Permit Cycle).
1.2 Introduction
The Clean Water Act requires states to establish designated uses for their waters and adopt water
quality standards to protect those uses. When a waterbody fails to meet these standards, the
Clean Water Act mandates the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), or “pollution
diet,” which sets the maximum pollutant loadings that can occur without violating water quality
criteria. DEQ has developed bacteria TMDLs for the Back River and Warwick River (including
Skiffes Creek and Deep Creek) watersheds, as follows:
1. Back River TMDL – “Total Maximum Daily Loads of Bacteria for Back River in York
County and Cities of Hampton, Poquoson, and Newport News, Virginia” (approved by
State Water Control Board on June 30, 2014)
2. Warwick River TMDL – “Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load Development for
Warwick River: Primary Contact Recreational Use and Shellfish Harvesting Use”
(approved by State Water Control Board on April 28, 2009)
These TMDL reports establish the maximum bacterial loads the impaired waterways can receive
while maintaining water quality standards. The City of Newport News is identified as a point-
source discharger of bacteria in both reports and has been assigned wasteload allocations (WLAs)
for segments of the Back and Warwick Rivers. The City first developed the Bacteria TMDL Action
Plan to address these impairments in June 2018; the document was updated in August 2019 and
again in September 2022.
Part I.D.2 of the City’s MS4 Permit requires the City to update and maintain its local TMDL action
plan and to submit the updates to DEQ within 18 months of the permit’s effective date. This
document fulfills that requirement by presenting the City’s revised Bacteria TMDL Action Plan for
the Back River and Warwick River watersheds for the 2024-2029 MS4 Permit Cycle.
Section 2 provides a review of the known bacteria impairments and assigned WLAs. Section 3
reviews City practices and strategies to be implemented throughout the 2024-2029 MS4 Permit
Cycle. Section 4 describes the public comment results and annual reporting.Jump to an indexed page (17 of 17)